Process and appliances for the pre-setting of cutting and ejection tools in a cutting press for box blanks

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for pre-setting the mounting holes for cutting and ejection tools characterized by a template which has a pattern of holes including centering holes and an arrangement for positioning both a cutting form and an ejection board whether it is the first or second ejection board relative to the cutting form. In the method, the cutting form is placed on the template and the centering holes are formed. Then with a pin received in each of the centering holes formed in the board, the mounting holes are formed utilizing the holes of the template for guiding a drill, then an ejection board such as the second ejection board is aligned on the template with the cutting form and has centering holes formed using the centering holes of the template and the cutting form to guide and locate the drill bit. Additional mounting holes can be formed after providing the centering holes. Next, the second board is replaced by the first board, which has its centering holes formed utilizing the centering holes of the template and the cutting form to guide the drill and then after removal of the cutting form additional mounting holes which are arranged in at least two separate groups are formed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 345,354, filedFeb. 3, 1982 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,667 on Apr. 16, 1985.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus forpresetting the three tools necessary for cutting and for the ejectionsof an automatic platen press for cutting cardboard box-blanks.

In the manufacture of box-blanks for cardboard packing cases it is knownto employ automatic platen presses with three stations. In the firststation there is mounted a cutting form made up of a rigid board,generally of wood, on one face of which cutting rules and creasing rulesare fitted intended to respectively cut the cardboard box-blankaccording to the desired contour and to impress thereupon the differentlines of creasing and of folding back. The box-blank, thus cut andscored, is seized by adequate gripping means along a border called agripping engagement and entrained by transport means to the secondstation in which is mounted a board of first ejection having the samedimensions as the finished box-blank. The board of first ejectioncooperates with a press cradle in order to strip the cutting wastes andeject them. The box-blank is finally conducted to the third stationwhere there is disposed a board of second ejection which cooperates witha press cradle in order to sever the cut box-blank from the grippingengagement.

The known automatic platen presses of this type have the disadvantage ofexhibiting, from one model to the other, dimensional differences, and,more particularly, differences in the margin left between the peripheraledge of the cutting form and the first cutting rule defining the edge ofthe box-blank. The result of this is that the tools of one press modelcannot be utilized on another model.

Moreover, the registering of the tools relative to one another cannot beeffected presently with sufficient precision, which entails an importantloss of time in the setting of the tools as well as risks of imprecisionshown by a poor cut of the box-blank or even a deterioration of thetools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has as its object the remedying of thesedisadvantages and proposes, to this end, a presetting method whichpermits the effecting, outside the press, of operations of centering ofthe cutting form and of the boards of the first and second ejection insuch a manner that the latter can be set back very rapidly and with agreat precision into the corresponding stations of the automatic platenpress.

To this end the method according to the invention consists in utilizinga pre-mounting template, comprising means of longitudinal positioning ofthe tools, identical to corresponding means, provided on the supportelements of said tools on the press, and a plurality of holes arrangedaccording to a distribution which is identical to that of thecorresponding elements formed on said support elements, and throughwhich fixation holes can be drilled on the correctly positioned tools,in such a fashion that the tools can be transferred from the template tothe press in preserving the same relative longitudinal and transversearrangements.

More precisely, the method according to the invention consists inmilling one edge of the cutting form until it is flush with the firstcutting rule running along said edge so as to cause a rectilinearabutment to appear in registry on said first rule, to arrange thecutting form on said template, with said first cutting rule beingsupported on a fixed rectilinear stop provided on the lower board of thetemplate, to drill two centering holes in the lower part of the cuttingform through a series of holes provided in the template, to introduce,in each of these holes, a pin intended to render immobile the formduring the subsequent operations, to drill on the form a plurality offixation holes distributed in the best possible fashion and selectedamong a range of holes pre-drilled on the template, to place the secondejection board on the template, with its lower edge supported on ahorizontal bar mounted in vertically mobile fashion on the template, toshift the bar in order to lead the lower edge of the second ejectionboard perpendicular to the first cutting rule of the form, to finallydrill centering holes facing those made on the form, in alternatelyremoving one pin then the other, to remove the second ejection board andto put in its place the first ejection board which one centers on theinside of cutting rules of the circumference of the form, to drill onthe first ejection board two centering holes perpendicular to those madeon the form, to remove the cutting form, to remove the pins bycrosspieces equipped with axles which one fits in the centering holes ofthe template in which the pins were disposed and in the centering holesof the board, and to drill fixation holes on the first ejection board.

The mounting of the three tools is immediate due to the fact that thefixation holes are all ready. Moreover, the tools are registered on thefirst cutting rule, having the contour of the cutting form, such thatthey allow the carrying out of cutting operations with a greatprecision.

In order to mount the cutting form on the first station of the press itsuffices to equip the support element of the cutting form with a wedgehaving a profile identical to that of the fixed stop, to drill on saidsupport element holes distributed identically to the holes of thetemplate, to arrange on the support element the pre-drilled cutting formin leading the first cutting rule of the latter into abutment againstthe wedge and the holes into coincidence and joining together thecutting form and the support element; for example, by means of screwspassing through the holes.

In order to mount the first ejection board on the press one equips thesecond station of the press with a crossbar equipped with centeringpawns of which the mutual spacings are identical to those existingbetween the pre-drilled fixation holes on the first ejection board, thelatter is then fixed on the crossbar by means of squares, of which oneleg is screwed in the corresponding holes of the board and of which theother leg, equipped with a slot, is pitched on one of said pawns of thecrossbar, and one longitudinally positions said crossbar; for example,by means of crosspieces, so that the first ejection board is disposedcorrectly registered on the first cutting rule.

The mounting of the second ejection board on the press is effected byequipping the third station of the press with a centering plateexhibiting a plurality of slots distributed identically to thepre-drilled holes on the second ejection board and by fixing the latteron said centering plate, for example, by means of screws passing intothe slots and into the holes, the shanks of the screws being more orless advanced toward the bottom of the slots in order that the rear edgeof the second ejection board is registered on the first cutting rule.

The invention likewise relates to an apparatus for carrying out theafore-mentioned process. This apparatus is characterized in that itcomprises essentially a premounting template equipped on its lower edgewith a fixed rectilinear stop on which there comes to be supported: thefirst cutting rule of the cutting form, a horizontal bar which isvertically mobile on the surface of the template, on which there cancome to be supported the lower edge of the first ejection board or ofthe second ejection board, means of fine adjustment of the height of thebar, a plurality of holes through which can be drilled the centeringholes on the three tools and the fixation holes on the cutting form andon the first ejection board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One mode of realization of the invention shall be described in detailnow with regard to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view of the kinematic chain of anautomatic platen press;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the three stations served by said kinematicchain;

FIG. 2a is an enlarged perspective view of the frame of the firststation equipped with the cutting form;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the fixation means of thefirst ejection board on the second station of the press;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view illustrating the fixation mode of the secondejection board on the third station of the press;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the mode of execution of the stop,in registry on the first cutting rule on the cutting form;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the cutting form;

FIG. 7 is an elevation view of the pre-mounting template according tothe invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of the template bearing the cutting form;

FIG. 9 is a view in the direction of the arrow F₁ of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows the template equipped with locking pins;

FIG. 11 shows the second ejection board positioned in superposition withthe cutting form on the template;

FIG. 12 shows a view in the direction of the arrow F₂ of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 shows the first ejection board in position on the template, withits brackets being turned toward the exterior;

FIG. 14 is a view of FIG. 13 in the direction of the arrow F₃ of FIG.13;

FIG. 15 shows the first ejection board on the template, the bracketsbeing turned toward the template and the cutting form having beenwithdrawn; and

FIG. 16 is a view in the direction of the arrow F₄ of FIG. 15.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the kinematic chain of the automaticplaten press in accordance with the invention comprises at least oneendless transport chain 10 running around non-illustrated pulleys, oneof them being a driving pulley. Transversely to the direction ofmovement the chain carries regularly spaced gripping bars 12 intended toseize the cardboard box-blank to be cut by a transverse edge.

The cardboard box-blanks are successively led to three processingstations. Mounted at the first station is a cutting form 14 intended tocut the form according to the desired contour and to mark the foldinglines. The cutting form is fixed on a form-bearing frame 16 drilled onits entire surface with fixation holes 18. The cutting form and its modeof fixation on the frame 16 shall be described in detail in thefollowing.

According to the invention, the registering mark which one takes intoconsideration is defined by the first cutting rule 20 of the form (FIG.2a) as shall be explained, and not by the edge 22 of the frame whichvaries from one model of the press to the other.

Fixed on the second station is a first ejection board 24 having the sameform as that of the finished box-blank and which, when it cooperateswith a press cradle 26, strips the cutting wastes and ejects them, thefinished box-blank remaining positioned on the first ejection board.

As one can see from FIGS. 2 and 3, the fixation is realized by means oftwo squares 28 of which the horizontal arm is fixed by screws 30 inpre-drilled holes 32 on the board 24 and equipped with T-nuts 34 and ofwhich the vertical arm exhibits a slot 36 permitting the pitching of thesquares on centering pawns 38 provided on a board bearing crossbar 40being made connected with a first ejection cradle 42 by crosspieces 44of predetermined length. Mounted on the third station is a secondejection board 46 intended to sever the box-blank from the boarder ofgripping engagement by which it is seized by the gripping bars 12, thebox-blank then being ejected toward a pile of finished box-blanks.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the second ejection board 46, pre-drilled onthe template, as shall be explained in the following, is fixed on acentering plate 48 by means of bolts screwed into crosspieces 52, thelatter themselves being equipped with a threaded pin 54 engaging in oneof the holes 56 of the board 46 and which becomes fastened in a T-nut58. The position of the board 46 can be adjusted relative to thedirection of displacement of the chain 10 due to the fact that thefixation bolts 50 can slide more or less deeply along slots 60 providedon a transverse edge of the plate 48. The centering plate 48 isconnected with a crossbar 62 of the press.

The cutting form 14 and the boards 24 and 46 can be adjusted in positionso as to be in registry on the first cutting rule of the form 14, as oneshall now explain.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the cutting form 14 is made up of arectangular wooden board on which cutting rules 64 are fitted which areintended to cut the cardboard box-blank according to the desired contourand on which creasing rules 66 are fitted capable of marking on thebox-blank the lines of creasing and of folding.

In conformity with the invention, the front edge 68 of the form ismachined; for example, by means of a milling head 70, to a depthinferior to the thickness of the form and flush with the first cuttingrule 20. One thus makes appear an edge of gripping engagement 74 whichshall serve simultaneously for registering the different tools duringdrilling of the centering and fixation holes and for the fixation on themounting frame 16 (FIG. 2).

Said drilling operations are realized on a premounting template 76 shownin FIG. 7. The template is shown in the form of a rigid plate, more orless vertical, fixed on a metallic frame 78 mounted on a bench 80. Thetemplate exhibits over its entire surface elongated and relatively wideapertures allowing to see the implantation of the rules on the form andto thus avoid damaging them during the drilling of holes on the threetools from the back of the template. In a realization variant, thetemplate is realized in a transparent material. It is no longernecessary thus to provide the apertures 82. It likewise comprises aplurality of holes 84 regularly distributed over the entire surfaceserving the purpose of guiding the drilling of fixation holes on thetools. In the low part, the template comprises a plurality of holes 86permitting the selection of the two centering holes to be drilled on thethree tools, as shall be explained in the following, and several holes88 grouped in series of threes, intended for drilling of the holes 32(FIG. 3) for the fixation of the squares 28 of the first ejection board.All these holes are equipped with guide bodies 89 intended to protectthe edges of the holes and to guide the bit of the drill.

As shown in FIGS. 7 through 9, the template 76 is equipped on its loweredge with a fixed stop 90, arranged following a horizontal line parallelto the plane of the template and located slightly in front of the latterso that when the cutting form 14 is disposed horizontally on thetemplate it is in support by its first cutting rule 20 on said stop 90and so that the edge of gripping engagement 74 is placed behind thestop. In front of said stop there is mounted a mobile bar 92 bearing aplurality of stops 94 separated by intervals allowing to see between thestops 94 the first cutting rule 20 of the cutting form. In a variant ofrealization, the mobile bar 92 is realized in a transparent material. Inthis case it can be rectilinear, without stops or intervals, the firstrule being visible by transparency. The stops 94 exhibit a squareprofile 96 on which the lower edge of the first and second ejectionboards can be placed. The mobile bar 92 can be adjusted in height bymeans of setting screws 98 so as to be able to bring the profile 96 ofthe stops 94 to the same level as the first cutting rule 20.

On the back of the template 76 there is fixed a frame 100 on which holes102 are drilled which are facing and according to the same arrangementas the centering holes 86 of the template. The holes 102 and 103 allowthe guiding of the drill bit during the drilling of the centering andfixation holes on the three tools.

The template likewise comprises a holding bar 104 displaceable on thesurface of the template by a classic wire system 106, pulleys 108, andcontrol button 110, and serving the purpose of keeping the tool immobileduring the drilling of the holes.

Now the mode of predrilling of the tools prior to their mounting in thepress shall be described, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 16.

The first operation relates to the drilling of holes on the cuttingform. For this purpose, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the cuttingform 14 is placed on the surface in front of the template, the firstcutting rule 20 being placed on the fixed stop 90. The holding bar 104is applied against the upper part of the form. From the back of thetemplate, two holes 112 are then drilled on the form through holes 86suitably selected on the lower part of the template in order to not fallon a rule of the form, and in being guided with corresponding holes 102on the frame 100; said two holes 112 will serve the purpose of centeringof said form.

As shown in FIG. 10, in each of these two centering holes, a pin 114 isengaged which shall serve the purpose of immobilizing the form duringthe subsequent operations.

Six to eight fixation holes 116 are then drilled on the form, indistributing them in the best possible fashion and in selecting themamong the range of holes 84 pre-drilled in the template. The holes 116will be provided with T-nuts in order to facilitate the mounting on theframe of the cutting press.

The second operation consists in drilling centering holes on the secondejection board 46. For this purpose, the latter is placed on the innersquare 96 of the mobile bar (FIGS. 11 and 12), it being registered onthe first cutting rule 20 of the cutting form which is already disposedon the template. The positioning of the board 46 is improved by means ofthe two setting screws 98 of the mobile bar until the lower edge of theboard 46 is in the same plane as the plane of the first cutting rule.

Finally, two centering holes 56 are then drilled perpendicularly tothose already made on the form, alternately removing one pin 114, thenthe other, and possibly a supplementary fixation hole 120. The centeringholes will serve the purpose of mounting the board 46 on the machine atthe third station (FIGS. 1 and 2) which comprises the metallic plate 48with bolts 50. All these holes will be equipped with T-nuts 58 intowhich the crosspieces 52 of positioning on the machine come to beengaged (FIG. 4).

The third operation consists in drilling two centering holes on thefirst ejection board 24. To this end the second ejection board isremoved from the template 76 (FIGS. 13 and 14) and one puts in its placethe first ejection board 24, stakes 122 turned toward the exterior, incentering it on the interior of cutting rules of the circumference 64 ofthe form 14. The positioning is improved as in the preceding with thesetting screws 98, and two centering holes 124 are drilled, alternatelyremoving one pin, then the other.

In a fourth operation holes for the fixation of the board 24 on themachine are drilled: for this purpose, the first ejection board 24 isremoved (FIGS. 15 and 16), then the form 14. The axles 126 of twocrosspieces 128 are, respectively, introduced in the centering holes 86of the template. One then replaces the board 24 after having turned itover, stakes 122 against the template and with its lower edge resting onan exterior square 130 of the mobile bar 92. One engages the axles 132of the crosspieces 128 in the centering holes 124 of the board 24. Thelatter is then disposed correctly centered. One then drills the twoseries of three holes 32 (FIG. 3 and 16) in which the squares 28 shallcome to be engaged, as has been explained in the preceding.

The assembly of the three tools thus predrilled can now be effected veryrapidly and with precision. The form 14 is fixed on the form bearingframe 16 (FIGS. 2 and 2a) by means of screws becoming screwed into thefixation hole 116 of the form and into the holes 18 of the frame, theregistry being made up the first cutting rule 20 of the form coming intosupport on a wedge 134 of the same form and with recesses 133 identicalto those of the bar 90 so as to obtain the same support points on thetwo bars, even in case of irregularity of the edge of the cutting form.

The first ejection board 24 is mounted on the second station. To thisend, one mounts the squares 28 on the board 24 and one engages the slots36 of the squares (FIG. 3) on the pawns 38 of the crossbar 40. To thisend, the pawns are spaced apart a distance equal to that existingbetween the fixation holes 32 on the board 24 and the crosspieces 44have a length such that the board 24 is disposed correctly registered onthe first cutting rule.

The second ejection board 46 is finally mounted on the third station insliding the bolts 50 in the slots 60 of the centering plate 48. To thisend, the slots are distributed identically to the holes 56 of the secondejection board 46, and the pins of the bolts 50 are more or lessadvanced toward the base of the slots in order that the rear edge of theboard 46 is registered on the first cutting rule.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for producing centering holes and mountingholes in a cutting form having cutting rules and in at least oneejection board of a platen press, said apparatus comprising apre-mounting template being provided on its lower edge with a fixedrectilinear stop on which one of the cutting rules of the cutting formis receivable, a horizontal bar with a support surface being mounted onthe template adjacent the stop, means for adjusting the support surfacerelative to the stop, said template having a pair of centering holeguides and a pattern of distributed mounting hole guides so that with acutting form on the stop, centering holes and mounting holes can bedrilled into the cutting form and by positioning a board on the supportsurface, centering holes can be formed that are aligned with thecentering holes on the cutting form.
 2. An apparatus according to claim1, wherein the template has a plurality of elongated apertures so thatthe position of the rules on the cutting form can be observed throughthe template.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the templateis made of a transparent material.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the bar has recesses to enable observing the alignment of alower edge of the ejection board and a first cutting rule of the cuttingform.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bar isrectilinear and is constructed of a transparent material.
 6. Anapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the template includes ahorizontal holding bar movable along a front face of the template, saidbar serving the purpose of immobilizing each of one of the board and theform in a position on the template during the drilling of the holes. 7.An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the template includes aparallel plate member which is spaced from the template, said platemembers having holes aligned with the mounting holes and the centeringholes of the template.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedifferent holes of the template are provided with guides intended toguide the bit of the drilling tool.